Payton, apparently, loves throwing the ball.

That's his storyline, and his offense is sticking to it. And if that means the Saints don't win as much as they otherwise might -- if they bothered trying to run more than enough times to be able to say they tried to run -- then that seems to be acceptable collateral damage for a team that now needs to win its last four games of the regular season, and get a ton of help, to reach the playoffs.

And if that's not the case, then someone can enlighten with a better theory as to why Drew Brees is on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season record for passing yards, and to raise his team single-season record for passing yards for the third consecutive year, but the Saints are on the verge of being out of the money for the postseason again and can't break free of the .500 mark, tumbling back to 6-6 after their 23-20 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday.

While the Saints avoid the run at damaging cost, most other playoff contenders -- including all three ahead of them in the NFC South Division -- seem to embrace it. The evidence never was more damning than Sunday.

In a 35-31 victory on the road at Green Bay, Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams had 21 carries, and quarterback Jake Delhomme threw 17 times for Carolina (9-3). In a 22-16 victory at San Diego, Falcons running back Michael Turner took 31 handoffs, and quarterback Matt Ryan had 23 passes for Atlanta (8-4).

And against the Saints, running back Warrick Dunn -- 5-foot-9, 187-pound, 33-year-old Warrick Dunn -- was entrusted with 22 carries on Tampa Bay's soggy field at Raymond James Stadium, and quarterback Jeff Garcia threw 23 times for the Buccaneers (9-3).

On Sunday, New Orleans ran 18 times -- in a three-point loss in which Tampa Bay was held to two third-down conversions in 15 attempts and the Saints led 10-6 at halftime. And one of those runs was a reverse by receiver Devery Henderson.

New Orleans tried to run eight times in the first half, so eschew the notion that the game might have been out of hand and the run had to be abandoned.

Meanwhile, Brees was credited with 47 passes, including nine on the first drive, which lasted 12 plays and ended on the ill-advised reverse on fourth-and-1 at Tampa Bay's 30-yard line. Henderson lost 3 yards on the play, and Payton said Monday he got frustrated early when several runs went for negative yards.

The remedy Sunday -- the remedy much more often than not for the Saints when they don't run for 20 yards on the first two carries -- was to shy away from it. Because that's what the Saints do under Payton.

That's not to say New Orleans absolutely has to run its offense the way everyone else does. Payton correctly has unwavering belief in Brees, who arguably is the best quarterback in the league this season. Putting the ball in his hands isn't the worst strategy that could be used.

But what the other NFC South teams are doing is working better than what the Saints are doing. All that pass-happiness has led to much stat-happiness, but not a bit of satisfaction in the standings.

Through 12 games, 62 percent (472 throws and 10 sacks) of the Saints' 777 offensive plays have been pass attempts. Last season, when the Saints finished 7-9, 63 percent (652 throws and 16 sacks) of the 1,060 offensive plays were pass attempts.

In 2006, when New Orleans won the division title and reached the NFC championship game, 56 percent (580 throws and 23 sacks) of the 1,075 offensive plays were pass attempts.

In the divisional playoff victory over Philadelphia at the Superdome, the Saints rushed 37 times and passed 32. In the conference championship loss at Chicago -- in the sleet, snow and freezing cold of Soldier Field against the Bears -- Payton's Saints came out firing darts and never stopped, the offense throwing 49 passes and running the ball 12 times.

The numbers say the closer the balance has been to 50-50 under Payton, the better the Saints have been.

And they say that when he says he wants to run the ball more, it's not much more than lip service. If the Buccaneers can find 22 carries for Dunn in a tight game, the Saints ought to be able to manage more than that as a team, ought to be able to emerge with something a little more reasonable than trying to throw the ball on 73 percent of the offensive plays.

That crosses the line of dedication to a system and a belief and ventures into the territory of rigidity and stubbornness, and it's no wonder the Saints continue to be average (this season) or just below (last season).

Sure, there have been occasions the past two seasons when the Saints fell behind so far and so fast, dumping the running game was necessary. The quickest way to attempt to come back was through the air.

But all imbalance can't be attributed to deficit. A good portion can be credited to a coach who seems hell-bent on throwing the Football regardless of time, score, weather, personnel or opposition.

Sometimes, like the Vikings did in their "Monday Night Football" victory against the Saints at the Superdome, when Adrian Peterson had 21 carries for 32 yards, a team runs to let the other team know that its identity and intent is to muscle up and dictate, regardless of how many defenders are in the box. It's to let opponents know they're going to have to respect that aspect of the game.

Not so, the Saints.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of missing the playoffs will keep them from making their appointed NFL rounds without a pass-happy playbook.

It's the only thing that has been happy about the past two seasons.

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John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3410.